Oh man, I know exactly what that car smells like when you open the door.

So you know, it is suffering form clear coat failure. They didn't come from the factory with clear coat. You may find cool stuff under the paint. Like sculptures that would make Michelangelo jealous.

Pretty solid though, how are the corners of the dash behind the A pillar and the rear frame rails?

Look here for decoding.

MadMike's 1977 Camaro Data

 

Wait a minute, they weren't clearcoating in '77? So this car has had a total repaint? That's interesting. I'll have to ask my sister-in-law about that.

I'm going to start tearing into the dash today. The dash pad, of course, is totally shot. Frame rails look decent enough. This is an Arizona car that has been parked for about 15 years. So what I'm finding, as far as rust goes, are spots where rain water has leaked into the interior and puddled up. Underneath the vehicle, the part that is usually assaulted by the elements, is pretty clean from what I've seen so far.

 

Well the interior is stripped except for the distributor air duct which doesn't seem to budge even though I've removed every screw in sight.

Got all the foward sheet metal removed in preparation for pulling the engine.

On my previous restorations (all 2 of them!) I just pulled the engine and took it to a rebuilder. $2k-3k later I get it back and reinstall it. On this one I'm thinking of rebuilding it myself. I'd tear it down and install a basic kit of rings, bearings, gaskets, freeze plugs, and an oil pump. The part I'm not sure about is how to take measurements to see if the block needs machining.

On the heads I'll do lifters and a timing chain at the minumum. What else is standard for a valve job? At this point I'm just trying to find the line between what I can do myself and what is best left to a pro.

As a backup plan, do any of the Arizona members know a good engine rebuilder in the Tucson-Sierra Vista area?

Thanks

 

For your engine tear it down and have it bored. Its no worth trying to install new pistons on an old motor. A re-ring would be a better route in that case.

Get something with hyperutectic pistons, they are only slightly more expensive than stock cast pistons. Keith Black makes a good hyper set for around 250. Throw on a set or plasma moly rings. Pick up a set of Eagle or Scat rods and a cast steel crank and your rotating assembly will out last you as long as you don't treat it like a race car and keep the oil changed. After you have your pistons in hand then drop the block off and have it bored accordingly. I would also have them deck it to 9.005" or so. This will give you just about perfect quench or squish. The distance between the top of the piston and the deck. Some where around .040" is good. The piston 5-10 in the hole plus the compressed thickness of the head gasket will get you right there. Most gaskets are .039" compressed. If the machine shop doesn't ask for the pistons then go somewhere until they do. Don't ask them, they may take them because you asked but that doesn't mean they are going to measure them.

My machine shop asks, then they measure all 8 and bore the block to the average of them. Plus cast, hyperutectic, and forged all have different expansion rates. In my opinion that is much better than saying, bore it .030" over and not knowing if they are tight or loose in the bores. The result is better power, better oil control and less chance of piston rock.

On to your heads. Since the block is cut have them do just a clean up pass to get them square. Too much and compression will come into play. Have them magnefluxed before doing anything. This 50 bucks up front can save hundreds down the road. No sense fixing up a set of heads and finding out they have a crack when you fire up the motor. Have them measure the guides. I would plan on a set of springs to match whatever cam you choose. The springs on there are 35 yrs old. Then a three angle valve job is probably the most important thing to have done. Depending on what you plan on doing with this motor, a set of Vortecs can be had for almost what it cost to rebuild the stock ones. But then you have to pick up a new manifold, so figure another two hundred for that. They are MUCH better than any stock head out there.

Do all that and you can have a solid 350 hp moptor that will live for a long time. Figure closer to 400 with the Vortecs and the right cam. If you would like I can post up a list of all the parts and prices from where I buy. I know I can get it in for under 3g with the new heads.

Good luck

Damon

 

Thanks for the good info Damon. It certainly gives me other options to consider. I'm still assessing my own abilities to do this. If I drop 3Gs on parts I want to make sure I can get the most out of them.

 

No problem. I analyze every detail in my control when building my own engine. I too want to get wring every bit of power I can for every dollar I spend. I read about every part I buy before buying it. I only screwed up once, I bought a harmonic balancer cover to fit over my stock one because it was marked up to 90*. Well I didn't think 30 bucks was that big of deal. When it arrived the slot for the key way was off. That threw off the bolt holes. By off I mean not even in the same neighborhood. It went in the garbage and now I'm going with a TCI Rattler.

As far as abbilities, if you can use a torque wrench, the rest is easy. Not much to screw up. If I feel like it tonight I'll get a list together. I bet i can get the parts for about 2g. Assuming you have a dizzy, water pump,intake and carb. Its fun for me.

Also, you can go stoker for the same price as a 355 as long as you are buying a new crank. I want to say the Scat crank I got was $199.

 

Description Total Scat, 4340 Forged I-Beam Rods, Chev SB, 5.700", Bushed
Item: SCR5 Price: $219.95 $219.95 Scat, 9000 Series Cast Crank, Chev SB, 350 Main, 3.480"
Stroke, 5.700 Rod (approx 50 lb.)
Item: CS350P Price: $187.95 $187.95 Speed Pro, Duroshield Piston Set &Rings, Chev SB F/Top, 4.03
Hypereutectic, 3.480 Stroke, 5.700 Rod
Item: SEA8-KH345NCP30 Price: $164.99 $164.99 Fel-Pro, Complete Gasket Set, Chev SB 283-350 to 1979
Item: 260-1000 Price: $44.99 $44.99 Clevite, Rod & Main Bearing Kit, Chev SB LJ, Std., Std.
Rods: Std., Mains: Std.
Item: 909KSS Price: $49.99 $49.99 Edelbrock, Performer EPS Dual Plane Intake, Chev SB Vortec
Item: EDE2716 Price: $187.87 $187.87 RHS, Cast Iron Chev SB Vortec Head, 170cc/64cc, Assembled
Item: RHS12407K1 Price: $769.98 $769.98 Comp Cams, Xtreme Energy Hydraulic Cam, Chev SB
274/286, 230/236, 110 LC
Item: 12-246-3 Price: $133.95 $133.95 Premium Hydraulic Lifters, Chev V8
Item: 652394 Price: $46.95

Subtotal: $1,806.62

I had a carb, aluminum water pump, plug wires, and a new HEI dizzy. That brought the total to 2600ish. Not bad, through another 500 in machine work and your sitting on 400 hp. More could be had with a bigger cam. I chose that one to work with the springs that come on the heads and because it doesn't need a bigger converter.

Happy shopping
Damon

 

It looks pretty good considering it hasn't been started in 12 years and considering as you said half of them were spent outside it doesn't look to bad it will be a hard project by the looks of things so good luck!!

 

Thanks for the comprehensive list of parts. I take it you've done this once or twice before!

Those pistons and rods, do they come in a kit with the stroker crank? If not, how does one know that they'll work together? Do I re-use my pushrods or do those come with the heads?

What do you think the final compression ratio is with this setup? Of course I have to be careful here. It's my wife's car and if I make it too fast she won't want to drive it

 

Thanks. The interior is going to be almost as expensive as the engine. Pieces were literally crumbling apart in my hand as I was removing them. The good news is it doesn't need a lot of bodywork and in any event I can do that myself. Ironically, the exterior paint will probably be the least expensive part of the restoration.

Speaking of paint, we're probably going to paint it the original color (orange). I noticed the engine bay comes in black but I think it would look better with the body color.

The interior is covered with some kind of dark brown no-gloss paint. What exactly is that? What do you guys use to cover the interior and underneath?